André Hanscombe, the partner of murdered Rachel Nickell, has spoken out about the 'catalogue of errors' by police that allowed her killer to remain free. In a new documentary, he describes the discovery that Robert Napper had twice been close to being caught as a serial rapist in 1989 as 'absolutely devastating', adding that the attack on Rachel and other victims was 'preventable'.
Napper, now 60, was convicted of Rachel's manslaughter in 2008, having already been held in Broadmoor hospital for the murder and mutilation of Samantha Bisset and her daughter Jazmine in 1995. However, a leaked CPS dossier revealed that three years before Rachel's death, Napper had been named as a suspect in a serial rape investigation but was excluded for being 'too tall'. His own mother had also reported him after he confessed to a rape, but police did not follow up.
Hanscombe, now 62, says the failures meant Napper remained on the loose, while Colin Stagg was wrongly charged. He describes the deaths as the 'worst possible scenario' after losing Rachel. Police now suspect Napper of 106 attacks involving 86 victims.
The documentary also explores the impact on Alex, Rachel and André's son, who witnessed the murder aged nearly three. André allowed Alex to be repeatedly questioned by psychologists to help the police, which led to 'a lot of conflict' in later years. Alex, now 36, says he was 'very angry' about being taken back to that day repeatedly.
Filmmaker Lucy Bowden says the family's motivation was to show resilience. 'Even with the worst possible thing that could happen, people can find their own peace and come through it,' she said.
